Mickey Callaway spoke with reporters at length on Wednesday, seemingly in awe of the talent before him. One player he is particularly impressed with is shortstop Amed Rosario, who he drew comparisons with his former shortstop in Cleveland, Francisco Lindor.
“I’ve gotten to see a lot of him,” Callaway said of Rosario. “Unbelievable athlete. I think, obviously, right on par with Lindor. Extreme athletes can move around really well — go left, right, good arm. He has all the tools.”
“The funny thing about those guys is they get to balls nobody else gets to, and sometimes they don’t make that play that they get to,” Callaway continued. “And people are like, ‘oh, he didn’t make a good throw.’ But, other players — it would have just gone by. It’s really fun to watch a dynamic, athletic player like that.”
Rosario, 22, has shown a lot of promise in his young career and being compared to the young star Lindor is anything but negative. Lindor is only 24 years old but already has three exemplary seasons under his belt. He’s been on two All Star teams, won a Gold Glove, and has finished 5th and 9th in MVP voting in 2016 and 2017 respectively.
A career .293/.349/.474 hitter, he hit for less average and more power in 2017 as he socked 33 home runs compared to 15 in 2016. He’s had 34 stolen bases the last two seasons combined, stealing 19 in 2016 and 15 in 2017.
The Mets shortstop obviously has not hit that well, slashing just .248/.271/.394 with four home runs, four triples, and four doubles in his 46-game debut last year.
So while the offense is by no means comparable at this point, the defense could prove to be eventually.
Lindor recorded five defensive runs saved last season with a UZR of 5.9. For his career, the All-Star has record 32 DRS in three seasons.
The 22-year old Rosario recorded one defensive run saved last season with a UZR of 1.6. However, throughout the minor leagues, the Mets shortstop was known for his glove and was labeled as an annual threat to win a Gold Glove Award.
If Rosario could manage to be anything like Lindor even just defensively, the Mets will have a franchise cornerstone in the making.
“Young shortstops are young shortstops sometimes, and we have faith that he’s going to go out there and make a play,” Callaway said. “Sometimes they’re going to make little mistakes along the way, but he’s always going to improve. We saw that with Lindor, and that’s just something that happens when you have a super-talented guy.”
